Ball sports such as soccer are extremely popular, and are played by organised teams at every level from local club to international. Skillful players are able to control the ball to the extent of adding spin to the ball as well as an initial velocity, so that the ball changes direction or curves while in flight. This is advantageous in many situations—for example, in soccer this allows a player to make indirect shots, bypassing intervening obstacles in line-of-sight between the player and their target, so that the player can shoot or pass to another player on their team. However, it takes considerable practice for a receiving player to be able to control the ball delivered in this manner, and being able to ‘read’ a ball (accurately assess flight characteristics while the ball is in flight) is an important aspect of this. In order to be able to practice this, it is useful if a ball is launched at a player in substantially the same manner each time. In a normal grassroots or non-league training environment only around one-in-ten, to one-in-twenty balls actually arrive where they should from a corner kick taken by a player. Under these conditions the density of useful training is low and it can take considerable time for players to develop their skills.
It can also be useful, for example if training a goalkeeper or similar, to be able to shoot balls repeatedly and swiftly, from a variety of angles and at a variety of speeds, so that they can practice their skills and hone their reflexes.
A number of machines are currently available that have ball launching functionality to allow users to practice specific skills the same as or similar to those outlined above. The Eurogoal machines by Globus Corporation are intended to provide goal shots, crosses and high arching shots, in order to train goalkeepers, defenders and strikers. The Sidekick soccer machine by Seattle Sports Science provides similar functionality, as does the Strikeattack machine by Sportsattack.
In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.